Religion and Ethics Forum

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Keith Maitland on August 18, 2016, 03:04:46 PM

Title: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: Keith Maitland on August 18, 2016, 03:04:46 PM
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There’s no way to sugarcoat it, so we won’t even try: All of that exercise you’re doing? Pretty much a waste of time if you’re sitting the rest of the day. The running, the spinning, the yoga? According to the American Heart Association, it may make you feel better, but it’s not making you any healthier.

“Regardless of how much physical activity someone gets, prolonged sedentary time could negatively impact the health of your heart and blood vessels,” said Dr. Deborah Rohm Young in the statement published in the journal Circulation.

She told the Daily News that people who are physically active and spend much of their day sitting are at greater risk than people wh are physically active and sit less. "We believe there are different biological mechanisms in place, but this hasn't been extensively studied yet," she said.

When you think about it, it makes sense. The same way you can’t stuff your face with Cheetos and Coke all day, then cancel it out with a salad? Yeah, well, the sweatiest SoulCycle session isn’t going to make up for sitting in front of a computer all day.

So what now?

“The best advice at this time is to ‘sit less and move more,’”,Young said.

Hmmm. Not exactly scientific. And yet, it could be helpful. It’s simple, elegant and easy to remember, even as we’re bombarded with mixed health messages every day. A Lancet report last month, for example, argued that exercising an hour or more a day could offset early death from sitting. But it didn’t say whether these people were healthy — just that they were still alive.

Sweat sessions are still important in cardiovascular health and maintaining a healthy weight, which is why the CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of rigorous exercise a week. And the AHA still wants you to work out — it just wants you to focus on getting off your seat more.

There's no magic number yet for how long it's OK to sit each day, or how frequently you should rise. "There's a lot of research that we need to do," admitted Dr. Young.

But the good news is that sitting less is easier than you might think. Sedentary behavior is defined as sitting, reclining or laying down while awake, as well as reading, watching television or working on the computer. So even just leisurely walking around, or doing your own housework instead of hiring a cleaner, will get you shaking a leg. The AHA has a number of smart ways to get off your butt, such as standing while talking on the phone, or brainstorming project ideas with a co-worker while taking a walk. You can also park at the furthest parking spot to make yourself walk a few extra steps, do yardwork, walk the dog or set an alarm to stand up and stretch for a minute or two every hour.
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: Brownie on August 18, 2016, 03:38:26 PM
Just what I need to hear, Keith.  Many thanks.
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: L.A. on August 18, 2016, 04:25:02 PM
That 'kind of' implies that if you aren't a manual worker there is no point in bothering with exercise?

Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: Dicky Underpants on August 18, 2016, 06:08:09 PM
The AHA has a number of smart ways to get off your butt, such as standing while talking on the phone,

Better still, walking or texting on the phone - then you're almost certain to walk into a lamp post some time and cause yourself severe concussion, and possibly brain damage (though it's my opinion that people who walk along whilst texting are already severely brain-damaged).
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: BeRational on August 18, 2016, 06:43:13 PM
Everything kills you in the end
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: Gordon on August 18, 2016, 07:01:06 PM
Everything kills you in the end

That is a great title for a song.
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: Jack Knave on August 18, 2016, 08:13:38 PM
Everything kills you in the end
No, something kills you in the end, not 'everything'.
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: Jack Knave on August 18, 2016, 08:16:34 PM
Keith, didn't you mean 'Sitting Still Will Kill You'.?
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: jeremyp on August 19, 2016, 12:56:51 AM
No, something kills you in the end, not 'everything'.
Especially hydrogen hydroxide in high concentrations.
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: L.A. on August 19, 2016, 10:09:40 AM
No, something kills you in the end, not 'everything'.

I always find  it annoying when health authorities announce that a particular lifestyle change or medical intervention will prevent so-many deaths per year, when at best, it can only postpone them.
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: Brownie on August 19, 2016, 10:15:25 AM
Postponing isn't bad though, if you feel OK and life is fairly good a few more years is not to be sneezed at.
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: floo on August 19, 2016, 10:47:21 AM
I think it is a mistake to sit for too long. I usually get up and have a walk around after I have been sitting for 30 minutes.
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: Sebastian Toe on August 19, 2016, 11:35:08 AM
I think it is a mistake to sit for too long. I usually get up and have a walk around after I have been sitting for 30 minutes.
I tried that once but it turned out to be a mistake which I regretted greatly.
It might have had something to do with me being stuck on a broken down chair lift at the time!  :-[
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: Jack Knave on August 19, 2016, 06:59:21 PM
Especially hydrogen hydroxide in high concentrations.
So does H2O in profuse quantities,
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: Jack Knave on August 19, 2016, 07:03:30 PM
I always find  it annoying when health authorities announce that a particular lifestyle change or medical intervention will prevent so-many deaths per year, when at best, it can only postpone them.
...yeah, death and taxes....and the mother-in-law...
Title: Re: Sitting Will Still Kill You
Post by: Jack Knave on August 19, 2016, 07:07:04 PM
Postponing isn't bad though, if you feel OK and life is fairly good a few more years is not to be sneezed at.
Unless that sneeze is the preludes to a fit.